Auxiliary floor for railway-cars.



W. T. VAN DORN.

AUXlLiARY FLOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLIYCATION FILED Dec. s. 19H.

1,259,934. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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AUXILIARY FLOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED 050.8. 1917- 1,259,934. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2- Q Q m jzdentbr y y l? W. T. VAN DORN.

AUXIHARY FLOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION men DEC. a. 19m.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Pu Q (i /A IL W. T. VAN DORN.

AUXILIARY FLOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS;

APPLICATION FILED mama. I917.

1,259,934. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

I 4 SHEETS-68E 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM '1. VAN DORN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A-SSIGNOR T0 VAN DORN GIRDER PLATE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

AUXILIARY FLOOR FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

Application filed December 8, 1917. Serial No. 206,130.

To all whom if; may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM T. VAN Donn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Auxiliary Floors for Railway- Cars, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to produce a simple, novel and inexpensive construction and arrangement by means of which an auxthe possibility of damaging the auxiliary flooring through contact with the contents of the car.

- In carrying out my invention I make use of an auxiliary flooring which is divided along the longitudinal center of the car in the same manner as the type of flooring now in use in which th sections are hinged at opposite sides of the car and are adapted to be swun up against the sides of the car, just above the main floor, when not in use. Therefore, viewed in one of its aspects, my invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simple, novel and inexpensive expedient for mounting auxiliary floors of thi old type, either originally or after they have gone into use, in such a manner that when not in use they may quickly and conveniently be stored in an out of the way place instead of taking up some of the most valuable space in the car, as heretofore.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter he pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view of a refrigerator car, partly in longitudinal section and partly in side elevation, containing my improved auxiliary flooring, one-half-of the flooring being shown in position on the main floor of the car and the other half being shown stored out of the way;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1; v I

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a View of one-half of the car, corresponding to Fig. 2, but on a larger scale;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing, in full lines, one step in the process of raising the auxiliary floor and in dotted lines a further step;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Figs. 4 and 5 showing in dotted line a third step and in full lines the final step in the process of raising and storing the auxiliary floor;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale through the guide for one of the sup Fig. 8 1s a section on line 88 of F ig. 7; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the supporting straps, the parts in Figs. 7, 8

and'9 being shown in the same positions that they occupy in Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 1s a horizontal section showing a fragment of the auxiliary floor in its raised position and a fragment of the adjacent wall of the car, togetherwith a means for insur ing that the auxiliary floor will be rigidly held against the wall of the car;

Fig. 11 is an inside elevation of a fragment of the car adjacent to one of the doors, showing n arrangement for supporting an auxiliary floor section that occupies the space between the doors;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11, showing the central auxiliary section and also the adjacent sections in thelr stored positions;

Fig. 13 is a section taken approximately on line 1313 of Fig. 12; and 1 Fig. 14 is a section taken approximately on line 1414 of Fig. 12.

In the drawings I have illustrated only a single preferred embodiment of my invention and, for the sake of brevity, I shall to the ends of the member 6.

limit the detailed description to .this particular embodiment; but it will of course be understood that the parts may be changed in number and design without departing from my invention.

Referring to the drawing, 1 represents a refrigerator car or" any usual orsuitable construction having a floor, 2, and doorways, 3, at opposite sides midway between the ends of the car. a

At each end or" the canextending from the doorway to the corresponding end of the available floor space in the car are auxiliary fiOOr sections, l; there being preferably tour of these sections, two in each end lying on opposite sides of the longitudinal center. The space between the doors is closed by a loose floor section, '5, having a length equal to the width of the car and a width equal to :the width of the doorways.

Each of the sections 4 is hung on what 1 term straps which are permanently fastened at their upper ends to the side walls of the ,carso that they can move up and down within a limited distance without beingin danger of becoming accidentally detached. These straps are so arranged that the sections, 4, may rest on the main floor of the car or be folded back and lifted so as to lie against 7 the sides of the car immediately under the roof or ceiling, the weight of the sections being taken by the straps when in the latter position and only comparatively light catches or holding devices being required.

In the arrangement shown, each of the sections 4 is supported by two strap devices.

of these devices, as best shown in Fig. 9, comprises a strap member, 6, of a length equal to the width of one of the sections, there being two short pieces, 7 and 8, hinged The pieces 7 and :8 are of a length equal to the overall thickness of the auxiliary floor. @n the free end of the member 8 is hinged a suitable head or guiding device, 9. Fixed in the sidewalls of the car are vertical guides, 10, one for each strap device; the guides, 10, being adapted to interlock with the members 9 so as to permit these latter members to have a limited vertical movement and be held against displacement transversely of the guides.

In assembling the parts, the members 7 are attached to the outer side faces of the corresponding floor sections and the members 9 are placed on the guides. The upward movement of the members 9 on the guides is sufiicient to permit the parts, 6, 8 and 9 to stand in vertical alinement when the auxiliary floor is down, the walls ofthe car'being preferably grooved, as indicated at 11, to permit theexposed parts of the strap devicesto lie flush with or'beneath the surfaces of the walls. r

Fig. 4 shows the relation of the parts when the auxiliary floor is down. When it is desired to put it out of the way, one section after another is first swungaround into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5. The lower end of each section is then drawn out as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. When a floor section is in this latter position, the guiding member or head, 9, will be at the lowermost limit of its movement. (Jenseiquentl-y when the section is raised from the position shown in dotted lines in Pi 5 to that shown in dotted lines in Fig. '6, one side of the section is being supported by the guiding members 9 and 10. From the dotted line position in Fig. 6, the section is swung upwardly into the full line position shown in Fig. 6, in which latter position each strap device surrounds the section on three sides, that is on all of the sides except the one engagin with the wall or" the car. It is immaterial how far upwardly the guiding head 9 can travel, as long as it can travel far enough to permit the members .6, 8 and 9 to lie in alinement when the auxiliary "floor is on the main floor, but the downward movement of the guiding head is preferably limited to such a point that it will cause the auxiliary floor to lie up close to the roof or ceiling of the car when swung up into the position shown in Fig. 6.

It will thus be seen that the members 6, 7 and 8 constitute a flexible member which is attached to a flooring section at one end and wraps itself around the latter, being 'silidabl-y connected to the car at the other end, so as to take up what may be termed theslack when the auxiliary floor is down.

JV hen the auxiliary floor is up its weight :ated with each section, the catch devices be- 'ing conveniently attached to the root' of the car and being of the automatic type which will permit the floor sections to pass by as they swing laterally toward the'sides of the car.

If desired, the auxiliary sections may be fastened to the wallsxo't the car in such a manner that there will be no looseness which will permit them to rattle. This may conveniently be accomplished by providing each floor section with one or more screw devices, 13, such as shown in Fig. 10, and arranging in'the walls of the car suitable nuts, 14, so located that after the auxiliary floor has seen swung up, each screw device will register with one of the nuts and may be screwed into the same so as to draw the auxiliary tloor tightlyagainst the side of the it will be seen that when the auxiliary 1 001 is up, the entire 'fioor area otthecar is available for receiving freight,'there be ing no diminution in the available cross sectional area for a considerable distance above the floor of the car so that the'most valu able space in the car is left unobstructed by the idle auxiliary floor. It will also be seen that the top of the auxiliary floor is the side which is exposed when it is elevated, so that the stored flooring presents an almost continuous smooth surface with no projecting parts. Consequently, the car may be loaded to a height which will make the load overlap the auxiliary flooring without danger of injuring the. auxiliary flooring because the latter presents a surface as resistant to damage as the walls of the car and there are no projecting parts to be broken off or injured as is the case with auxiliary floor sections that are simply swung up to the sides of the car in the lower regions of the car, thus exposing the girders or beams on which the slats or boards are nailed.

The door section, 5, may be taken care of in any suitable way. This section may conveniently be supported in the same way that I support the middle section in'the arrangement shown in my prior Patent No.1,169,307 issued January 25, 1916. In other words,

at each side of the car, above the doorway therein. may be placed a short track or rail, 16, pivotally supported at one end and connected at its other end to a lever, 17, having an upwardly projecting short arm, 18, pivoted to the end of a link, 19,,which is hung at its upper end from the wall of the car. Vhen the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 11, the tracks or rails, 16, serve as inclines or skids up which the flooring section, 5, may be pushed. After the floor section has been placed on the tracks or rails, the levers 17 are swung upwardly to bring their long arms into alinement with the tracks or rails; this operation bringing the tracks or rails horizontal and raising the floor section to the top of the Car as shown in Fig. 12.

The levers are locked to the tracks or rails by means of suitable bolts or looks. 20.

The particular type of auxiliary floor illustrated corresponds to a type now in use, the same being hinged to the sides of the car so thatthey may be swung up off the floor.

It is a simple matter to convert these old floors in accordance with my invention since the only additions that are required are the flexible straps or other members with their guides or other attachments to the car and the looks or catches. here my improvements are to be embodied at the time the auxiliary floor is first made, the sections may of course be formed in any size or shape. It will be understood that the sliding con.- nections between the flexible straps and the wall of the car are required on account of the "fact that each section has a width greater than one-half 'the height of the interior of the car. If the interior of the car were just ing up the slack which would be formed tance above the car floor. 7 2. The combination with a car, of a loose auxiliary floor section, and permanent flexible connections between said section and the car permitting the same to rest on the floor of the car and also to be laid flat against an adjacent wall of the car at a considerable distance above the car floor.

3. The combination with a car, of a loose auxiliary floor section, and flexible members connected at their upper ends to an adjacent wall of the car and at their lower ends to portions of the auxiliary floor adjacent to.

said wall, said members beingof sufficient length to permit said floor section to be rolled upwardly through three-quarters of a complete'turn and be laidagainst said wall while supported by said members.

1. The combination with a car, of a loose auxiliary floor section adapted to rest on the car floor adjacent to a wall of. the car. flexible members equal in length to the combined width and thickness of said section connected at their upper ends to'the said wall and at their lower ends to the edge of said section adjacent to said wall.

5. The combination with a car, of a'loose auxiliary floor section adapted to rest upon the car floor adjacent to a wall of the car, flexible members equal in length to the combined width and thickness of said section connected at their upper ends to the said wall and at their lower ends to the edge of said section adjacent to. said wall, and means adapted to engage said section and prevent its upper end from swinging away from said wall when said section is laid against said wall with said members passing under? neath thelower edge and across that face of the auxiliary floor which "forms the top of the same when it is resting on the car floor.

6. The combination with a car, of a'loose auxiliary floor section adapted to rest on the car floor adjacent to a wall of the car, flexible members equal in length to thecombined width and thickness of said section connected at their lo er ends o said section so as to extend upwardly from the .upper outer edge, .and mcans onnecting the'upper ends of :said member to-said wall so as to permit said section to .be lifted up beneath the ceilingaand laid flat against said wall by rolling it through three-quarters of a turn on said members serve :to supportthe weight ofsaid section when the latter is rolled upwardly thereon through threequarters of a turn and to permit the slack to be taken up in said members when said section rests on the car floor.

8. The combination with a .car, of a loose auxiliary floor section adapted to :rest on the car floor adjacent to a wall of the car, a metal strap having a length equal to the width of said section hinged at its low-er end to the upper corner of the latter adjacent to said wall, a short strap equal in length to the thickness of said section hinged to the upper end of the aforesaid strap, and a hinged connection between the upper end of the short strap and said wall.

*9. The combination with a car, of a loose auxiliary floor section adapted to rest on the floor of the car adjacent to'a wall of the car, a comparatively stifi' metal strap having .:a length equal to the width of said section hinged at its lowerend to the upper corner of the latter adjacent to said wall, a short strap equal in length to the thickness of said section hinged to'the upper end of the aforesaid strap, a vertical guide on said well, amember interlocked with said guide so as to be held thereon and have freedom for movement along the same, and a hinged connection between the upper end of the short strap and said member.

10. The combination with a car, of a loose auxiliary floor section, permanent flexible connections betweensaid section and the car permitting the sameto rest on the floor of the car and alSO be laid fiat against an adjacent wall of the car just beneath the car ceiling, and a screw device forholding said section 'firml'y against said wall the last gra ned position'idf the floor section.

"11. The combination with a car, of a iloos'e auxiliary 'fioorsect1on,jflexible members conneoted at'their upper ends to an adjacent wall of the car-and at their lower ends to portions of the auxiliary floor adjacent to said wall, said members being of ,sufiicient length to permit said floor section to be rolled upwardly through threequarters of a complete turn and be laid against said wall while supported by said members, and catch devices mounted on thecar in position to engage with the upper end of said auxiliary floor section and prevent it from swinging away from said wall when lying against the wall.

'12. The combination with a car, of a loose auxiliary floor section adapted to rest on the car floor adjacent to a wall of the car, a vertical guide on said wall above said floor section, a member interlocked with said guide and adapted to move upwardly along the same from a lower limit placed at a distance from the ceiling of the car approximately equal to the width of said section, a short metal strap equal in length to the thickness of said section hinged at its upper end to the aforesaid member, and a long metal strap having a length equal to the width of said section hinged at its upper end to the lower end of said short strap and hinged at its lower end tosaid section at the upper corner of the latter adjacent to said wall.

13. The combination with a car having central doorways at the sides. of a loose auxiliary fioor comprising a plurality of sections arranged between the doorways and each end of the car and divided along the longitudinal center of the car, and permanent flexible connections between each section and the correspondingside wall of the car-"permitting the section to rest on the door of the car and be rolled upwardly through three-quarters of a complete turn and be laid against ti e sidewall.

14:. The combination with a car having central doorways at the sides, of a loose auxiliary floor comprising a plurality of sections arranged between the doorways and each end of the car and divided along the longitudinal center of the car, permanent flexible connections between each section and the corresponding side wall of the car permitting the section to rest on the floor of the car and be rolled upwardly through three-quarters of a complete turn and be laid against the side wall, a loose central auxiliary floor section adapted to rest on the car floor in the space between the doorways, and means for supporting the latter section in the vicinity of the ceiling of the car.

15. The combination with a car, of a loose auxiliaryjfioor section, a member interlocked with said wall so as to be movable thereon in the vertical direction and tbe'held against 'movements in other directions, and a hinge between said member and said floor section. 156, The combinationwith a car :ofa loose auxiliary floor section lying adjacent to a Wall of the car, and a connection between said section and said Wall adapted to permit the said section to be swung abouta horizorfial axis movable up and down along said Wa 17. The combination with a car, of a loose auxiliary fioor section lying adjacent to a Wall of the car, and a combined hinge and jacent to said Wall so as to permit said section to be moved bodily in the vertical direction and be swung about a horizontal axis parallel With said Wall.

In testimony Whereof, I sign this specification.

WILLIAM T. VAN DORN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

slide connecting the edge of said section ad- 10 

